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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. E. KINGSPORD.

OFFICE INDICATOR. No. 452,899. Patented May 26,1891.

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R, E. KINGSFORD.

OFFICE INDICATOR.

No. 452,899. Patented May 26, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

RUPERT E. KINGSFORD, OF TORONTO, CANADA.

OFFICE-INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 459,899, dated. May 26, 1891. Application filed January 4, 1890. Renewed October 24, 1890. Serial No. 369,184.- (No model.)

To CI/ZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, RUPERT E. Kmesnonn, a subject of the Queen of England, residing at Toronto, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Office-Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

and to letters of reference marked thereon,-

which form a part of this specification.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view. Fig. 2 is a like View, the front plate of the cabinet being removed. Figs. 3 and 4 are opposite end views of the indicator, the door being shown open in Fig. 4; and Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 00 0c of Fig. 2.

The inventionrelates to indicators for pub lic or other buildings, and has for its object to provide suitable means whereby certain information may be conveyed to the public, thereby avoiding an unnecessary call at any particular room in such building.

The invention consistsin the construction of the indicator and in the combination of certain parts, whereby the results aimed at are attained in a simple manner.

The indicator consists of a case or cabinet A, provided with a front plate a of non-transparent material, preferably of glass rendered non'transparent by any suitable or preferred means, except as to narrow oblong spaces, which are left transparent. There may be three or four such narrow transparent spaces in the same horizontal plane, the space a for displaying the name of the occupant of a given room, the space a for displaying information as to whether the occupant is in or out, and the space a for displaying general information, as hereinafter described.

In front or at the head of each line of transparent spaces is placed a number indicating the room occupied by the party whose name is displayed in the first space a of a line of such.

The name of the occupant of each of the groove or in a slot 0, formed in two uprights O and O, secured at bottom and top to the case or cabinet A, and so that the said plate B will lie immediately in rear of the space a. The upright O is also provided with bearings c for one of the journals (1 of a roller D, whose other journal d has its hearings in the end wall A of the casing, or preferably in a bearing-plate C secured to the inner face of said end wall. The journal d projects into an aperture in the end wall A and has 1ts outer end squared for the application of a key. These apertures a I preferably close on the outside by means of a small door A that can be locked, the occupants of the rooms having each a key for thelockthat locks the doorA corresponding with his room, so that the rollers cannot be manipulated by unauthorized parties. The opposite end of the cabinet is closed by a door A, the key of which is in the custody of the party having charge of the building, and by opening which he may have access to the name-plates B as well as to the rollers D, for the purpose of making such changes in the indices thereon as may be required-as, for instance, the changing of the name of an occupant of a particular room whenever such room is Vacated and occupied by some one else and the changing of the indices on the roller whenever this becomes necessary.

In order to facilitate the removal of the rollers D from their bearings and from the cabinet the said bearings are formed at the end of inclined slots 0 as shown.

In practice I preferably give the rollersD a polygonal form in cross-section-as, for nstance, octagonal and so arrange the 111- dices as to suit general conditions. To this end one of the roller-faces bears at one end the word In, while all the other f acesbear at the same end the word Out, which two words are arranged so as to be displayed at the transparent spaces a The face that bears the word In has no other index thereon, so that when said face is turned to be viewed through spaces C(F'Ct the latter space will show a blank on the roller for obvious reasons. The remaining seven faces of each roller that bear at one end the word Out may have the following indices located for display at the transparent space a Inquire at office, Back to-morrow, Back in minutes, Back in minutes, Back in minutes, Back in one hour, Back in two hours, and these indices, it is thought, will meet the general requirements, so that the indices on the rollers need not be changed too frequently.

In order to hold the rollers D in the posit on to which they are set, any suitable friction device may be applied and interposed between said rollers and one of the bearingplates Oor 0 For instance, a coiled spring S on one of the journals of the roller may be employed, or a leather or rubber washer V, or a concavo-convex friction-disk D, or a ratchet R, having eight teeth, may be secured-to one of the roller-journals and a pawl P, pivoted to a fixed support-as, for instance, to one of the bearing-plates C or O said pawl P engaging the ratchet and holdng the roller D against rotation when ad-- usted.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An office-indicator comprising a cabinet, one end of which is closed by a single door adapted to be locked, and having in its opposite end a vertical row of apertures, each provided with a door for closing the same, the said cabinet having vertical rows of transparent spaces in its front plate, each of said rows of spaces being headed by a number, in combination with removable name-plates and removable rollers having indices on their periphery, said name-plates and rollers being arranged to display the indices at the transparent spaces, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In office-indicators as a means for furnishing an independent indicator for each occupant of a building, the combination, with a suitable case or cabinet having room-indices arranged in a vertical row on the front plate thereof, of revoluble rollers provided withindices on their periphery, adapted to be viewed through transparent portions opposite the respective numbers on said front plate, one of the journals of said rollers projecting into an aperture in the end wall of the cabinet, of a gate or door and a lock for locking the same, said locks having different bolt -operating mechanisms, so that the key of one look will not operate the bolt mechanism of any of the other locks, as and for the purposes specified.

In office-indicators, the combination, with a casin g provided on its front plate with numbers arranged in a vertical row, a door for closing one end of the cabinet, a lock for looking the same, an aperture for each number formed in the opposite end of the cabinet, a door for closing the same and alock for looking the door, and the bolt-operating mechanism of the locks differing from one another, of a removable plate and a removable roller arranged in line with the numbers, said plates and rollershavin g indices adapted tobe viewed through transparent portions of the front plate, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4E. The combination, with the cabinet A, having apertures a in one end thereof adapted to be closed, and a door A at the opposite end of the cabinet, the slotted uprights (J C and the bearing-plate 0 arranged in the cab inet as described, said upright C having bearings 0' formed at the ends of slots 0 of the plates 13, adapted to slide freely in the slots of uprights C O, and the rollers D, journaled in upright C and bearing-plate 0 one of the journals of said rollers extending into one of the apertures a, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RUPERT E. KINGSFORD.

Witnesses:

HENRY ORTH, HENRY G. DIETERICH. 

